Makenna watched the faces of those passing by. Some were locals, flashing looks of concern at the gathered Drake boys. Others were tourists who saw nothing out of the ordinary and didn’t bother with a second glance in their direction.
About to breathe a sigh of relief, the ground beneath her shook. Immediately, her attention darted to the sky. A flash of gold filled the air. The two Drake boys cursed. The sound of a snapping shutter broke the silence over the town.
Makenna’s heart flipped. A tourist stared slack-jawed at the dragon in the sky. A camera dangled between his fingers, slowly drooping. Griffin snarled and stomped toward the tourist. Makenna barely drew a breath before she heard the crack of plastic and metal. The crushed contraption fell to the ground.
The tourist cried out in dismay, but quickly swallowed it when he saw the look on Griffin’s face. The Drake boy was not messing around.
“Anyone else want to try me right now?” Griffin shouted at the plaza.
Ashton rolled his eyes before turning back to the actual problem. Jasper banked away from town, a small relief. The beast parted its jaws and let loose a deafening roar. The sound made the trees shake. Makenna thought it would make the very mountain bow to him. Jasper’s dragon was massive, curling through the sky like liquid gold.
“Get back in the car,” Ashton told her.
“I’m not letting you do this alone,” she rebuked.
“That’s not what I’m asking. Meet us at Kimbley Park. We should have Jasper under control by then.”
Relieved he wasn’t banishing her, she nodded.
As Griffin jogged past, he tossed her a set of keys. “Take my truck. It can handle the mountain roads better than your deathtrap.”
She stiffened. “I’ll have you know my deathtrap is all metal. It’s safer than your fiberglass monstrosity.”
Despite her arguments, she took Griffin’s truck anyway. She would feel a little bad about wrecking it if she had any trouble, but she didn’t have the money to even replace a flat tire on her own car. It would stay safe in town while she brought Griffin’s truck up to the mountainside park.
The lifted truck left a cloud of black smoke in its wake when she pressed down on the gas. Two more dragons erupted from the forest below. They crashed into Jasper’s side and shoved him further away from town as they all tumbled.
Makenna held her breath. The dragons plummeted. She waited for Ashton to unfurl his wings and catch the air, but the ground inched ever closer. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened. She was close to screaming when finally, his wings snapped open.
She sucked in a breath of air and pressed harder on the gas. The two would wrangle Jasper’s dragon by the time she made it to the park. They had to.
***
Ashton’s body ached. The impact had jarred his shoulder. The beast told him the bone was fractured, but he couldn’t stop. Jasper was still soaring toward the border of the territory. He felt like a jailer, keeping Jasper pinned to the mountain as if it were his prison. He understood what it felt like to be trapped and alone.
Jasper was no longer alone. He had half a court of dragons at his heel. All he had to do was call them when he needed help. Though Ashton knew how hard it was to ask for help. Pride kept everyone wrapped up in themselves. It was a flimsy barrier between okay and falling apart. One that he and Makenna had lived on for too long.
Once he grounded Jasper, he would promise Makenna a life where they would never have to do anything alone again. She was his partner as much as he was his. If she would allow him, he would handle her late aunt’s hospital bills. In return, she could sing his beast to sleep.
Ashton thought it was a fair trade. Their life would be about give and take, a constant flow from one to the other. All he had to do was convince her first.
Jasper’s body twisted in the air. His head came back around, and Ashton caught the first sparks of fire in Jasper’s maw. Ashton had just enough time to roll out of the way before the flood of flames erupted. The fire cascaded past him. For a moment, he felt the flood of relief.
Then Griffin howled. Ashton looked down to find the mountainside on fire. The wet, winter trees couldn’t fight back dragon fire. The crackle of trapped moisture reached his ears. Not even winter could save the mountain from Jasper.
Ashton banked toward Griffin. It’d been a long time since either of them had worked together. Without their human voices, it would be hard to form a plan. He would have to hope that Griffin knew when to follow. If they couldn’t pull this off, the mountain would burn, and Jasper would have nothing to rule.
He’d hoped the news of the failing bank would give the human part of Jasper something to cling to, but he couldn’t see where it worked. The beast kept escaping. It worked with a mind of its own. Ashton wondered what the beast wanted. Perhaps, if they appealed to that side, then they would find a balance.
Below, Jasper’s fire climbed the jagged mountain. It crawled and consumed everything in its path. Ashton and Griffin had to be quick about what they were going to do. His beast hated attacking Jasper. It knew what they were doing was wrong.
They shouldn’t have to wrestle their king.
Ashton shot into the air above, leaving Griffin to pursue Jasper. He spiraled as he rose. Exhilaration filled his blood and sang like music, discord interrupting the song when he leveled once more and looked down to Jasper. The gold dragon had turned on Griffin. Their beasts were nearly matched in size, but Jasper’s beast was smart.
It glanced up and caught Ashton in the air.
There was no time to waste. He tucked his wings close to his body and dove. Jasper ducked to avoid him, but Griffin hit Jasper in the chest. Ashton slammed into the side of Jasper’s head, claws clamping around Jasper’s muzzle. Together, the three of them careened toward the ground.
Before they hit the ground, both Ashton and Griffin snapped their wings open. They caught the air and softened their landing. Ashton expected the gold dragon to attack as soon as they released him, but the beast staggered back. Its form began to shrink. Letting loose one last snarl, the beast caved in on itself and became the Jasper they knew once more.
Just as he got to his feet, Griffin’s truck slid into him. The thud echoed through the clearing. Jasper was thrown onto his ass. Makenna acted like she hadn’t seen him, but Ashton could see the mischievous lie on her face. He didn’t have time to land and tell her their Jasper was back before she hit him. There was a forest fire to put out.
The beast wanted to land and scoop Makenna into his arms. He could almost feel the press of her against his body, but he attempted to be dutiful. These mountains might have belonged to Jasper, but they would be his home for the rest of his life. They were Makenna’s home, too.
His mountains.
When this was over, he would choose one and begin building them a home. The project would give him something to do while Makenna worked. He would make it perfect for them. There would be a grand recording studio with everything his mate would ever need to make music. Of course, he’d have to eliminate at least two of her jobs. Which meant he couldn’t give up the bank just yet.
He would have to find a way to help Jasper save it. Which meant saving Jasper, too.
Ashton’s to-do list was growing moment by moment, but he didn’t mind. It not only kept him busy, too busy for the beast inside him to complain, but it gave him life. Instead of empty days on repeat, Ashton now had something to live for. He craved the early mornings where he could watch Makenna get ready for work, tackling Jasper around midday, and listening to Makenna croon once she returned home.
He swooped toward the lake, feeling doors begin to open before him.
Chapter Thirteen
Makenna and Jasper sat on the truck bed, like two children put into time out. Well, it was more like one child and a babysitter. She felt a little remorse for hitting him with Griffin’s truck, but not enough to garner an apology. He interrupted her impromptu day off to throw a fit and risk his own mountain home. Makenna glance
d at the recluse dragon king, fearing that if she stared too long, he would lose control again.
“It doesn’t work like that,” he whispered. “You have nothing to fear from me.”
“You took down half that mountain with your fire,” she reminded him, arms crossed over her chest.
“I only did that because Ashton and Griffin keep getting in the way.”
“Don’t blame them for your lack of control. They’re out there trying to keep you from exposing dragon shifters to the world. Griffin had to smash a tourist’s camera earlier. All because you can’t keep it together.”
“Do you love him?”
The change of subject threw Makenna for a loop. She blinked at Jasper like her brain was trying to reboot after an overload.
“What did you just say?”
“What’s more important?” Jasper rasped. “Your pride or your life?”
He seemed to hang onto the moment by a thread. His eyes flashed grey-green and gold, constantly slipping between the two. The sight flooded Makenna’s chest with cold. Jasper was unstable, but his words were pure.
“I hate you,” she groaned at the king of the mountain.
Jasper just shrugged. The motion became jerky as his eyes slipped to gold again. He suddenly leaned into her, sniffing the air. When his lip curled and he shook his head, the gold bled from his face.
He leapt from the truck bed to the ground.
“No, you don’t get to leave. Get your ass back in this truck.” She couldn’t believe she was talking to the king of the mountain like this.
Makenna needed to remember that she was nothing more than a human. Centuries ago, no one would have blinked an eye if he thought to eat her. She’d be a quick snack, barely more filling than a corndog.
To distract herself, she turned toward Ashton and Griffin flying over the mountain fire. The lakes had been outfitted with devices that allowed the dragons to lift large amounts of water out and pour over the wildfires. Basically, it meant they could tend to their own mistakes. The curling smoke still alerted the local authorities. Makenna could hear the siren of the firetruck heading toward them.
“I’m going back home,” Jasper informed her. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
She groaned and gestured to the world around them. “I beg to differ. We have been worried for a while now.”
His smile was bitter. “Do me a favor and keep Ashton company. He’s going to need you. A mate…means a lot to a dragon. Far more than any hoard or conquest.”
Makenna wanted to argue. There wasn’t enough time in the day to be everything those around her needed. If she hadn’t let Ashton call in for her, she wouldn’t be where she was. Not that she had been any help, but if this kept up, she’d want to be near when the battles were over. Watching the fight had frightened her more than she thought possible.
Ashton should have been nothing more than a friend but seeing him in danger wrung her dry. It wasn’t until he approached on two feet that she realized just how empty she felt. Without thinking, she ran and threw herself into his arms. She burrowed her face into his neck and held on tight. He didn’t seem to mind. If anything, he carried her like she was meant to be in his arms.
“Aw damn it,” Ashton cursed.
Her heart leapt into her throat, but when she looked up, she saw the vacated space that once held Jasper. The recluse had disappeared on them again.
“I think he’ll get through the night, at least,” she confessed.
Her conversation with Jasper had been nearly normal. The new Dragon King might have been a little cryptic, but he seemed to be of his own mind again. The gold dragon would not steal the reins until tomorrow, at the latest.
“He needs to stop confining himself,” Makenna mused out loud.
Ashton craned his neck to look at her. Gears moved in his eyes.
“The both of you should show Jasper what it’s like to have a court. I know not everyone is back to Grove yet, but you and Griffin should keep him company. Maybe…maybe it would help keep his beast at bay.”
Makenna didn’t want to give Ashton up. It was a funny thought, considering that when he arrived, she didn’t want to be anywhere near him, but Jasper needed his family.
Ashton sobered. His joy upon seeing her was overshadowed by her words. She hadn’t meant to sadden him. His own battles with his beast had become better, she noticed. Ashton hadn’t taken off to give in to his beast since the day she found him in her lawn.
She told herself there would be someone else in this world who could help Ashton and his beast, someone with more time to give him, but the thought hurt like a knife in her chest. It was as if each time the thought rose, she carved a small part of herself away. Ashton had always been meant to fill that part of her. To push him away would hurt more than anything she’d ever known, even more than the first time they parted.
As if he could sense what she was thinking, Ashton’s grip on her tightened. He carried her toward Griffin’s truck. Over Ashton’s shoulder, she saw the sun beginning to dip toward the horizon. How many hours had passed while they wrangled Jasper and put out the gold dragon’s flames?
The day she’d guiltily stolen from her work schedule had slipped away, and she had nothing left of it. She pressed her eyes shut and wished to turn back time if only to savor this last day with Ashton. It couldn’t last forever. Nothing good ever did.
***
Makenna’s heart guttered, like a candle flame in the wind, as she watched Ashton disappear into his cabin. Griffin leaned out the window of his pick-up truck and waited. Drawn toward Ashton, she leapt off the truck bed and waved Griffin on. He deserved to go home. Ashton’s truck sat in the driveway. The copper dragon could take her home.
It would let her steal a few more moments with him.
Before she told him to leave for good.
Tears threatened to fall down her cheeks. She clenched her jaw and forced them back. Now wasn’t the time to cry. What she needed to do was for the best. Ashton would never find balance with her. She would always be the weak point in his life if he stayed with her.
Yet, when she reached the open door, those weren’t the words that fell from her lips.
“Gather your stuff and come home with me.” Makenna tried not to scowl at her words. It was not what she’d meant to say, but as she stood in the doorway of the barren cabin, she knew Ashton didn’t belong here.
He grinned at her, closing the distance in one stride to claim her mouth. She swooned, swaying on her feet. He held her upright. She clung to his fresh t-shirt as his tongue pushed past her lips. He delved deep inside her. It didn’t feel invasive like kisses from other men had felt in the past. She didn’t feel like he was taking up too much space or prodding the back of her throat.
Instead, everything about it felt right. Which made it all the more difficult to break away. Breathless, she tried to look him in the eye. Ashton had already turned away. He was jamming everything he’d brought with him into a bag.
She touched her lips. How long would it take for his careful balance to fall apart again? Would his beast show up at the diner and surprise the patrons because it missed her once again? Makenna couldn’t help but feel like she would be the dead weight in Ashton’s life.
Hell, she felt like dead weight in her own life.
Ashton dropped his packed bag and moved toward her, gently reaching out to her. He smoothed away the lines of worry that must have formed on her face. She tried to offer a smile, but it felt weak, wobbling under the effort.
“The day isn’t over, you know,” Ashton told her.
Makenna could have told him that wasn’t why she was sad. She could have broken it off there and walked home, but she didn’t. Of all the things she could do, she didn’t tell him to stay there or forget about her. Makenna didn’t think she could forget about him, so how could he forget about her?
Jasper told her Ashton would need his mate. She realized she desperately wanted to be that person for Ashton. He filled her with
so much joy. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this happy. Or felt anything at all.
“I know we lost a lot of the day to Jasper, but I have an idea that could make up for it.”
“Does it involve flaming bags of dog poop on Jasper’s doorstep?” She joked, even though the urge was there.
Ashton roared with laughter and promised her they could do that later. “I want to take you on a date. When was the last time anyone did anything nice like that for you?”
“There was this asshole who took me out and kept me up really late just to sing karaoke at the sushi place outside of town. I nearly missed work the next day.”
For a moment, Ashton’s lips turned down in a scowl. His possessiveness was clear, sending a tendril of flame through her core. He pressed himself close to her. Body to body, he grasped the back of her neck. Makenna could only grin as she waited. Then, all tension fled from his body.
“I’m that asshole,” he breathed.
“Seems like it. Glad you noticed.”
He growled and bent to kiss her, but she ducked away from the embrace. Her heart couldn’t handle it. This had to end. She didn’t know why she kept letting it go on and on. All they were doing was hurting themselves.
Ashton’s look of confusion and hurt was obvious. Makenna did her best to ignore it. She would start drawing lines tonight. If she could manage to make it final after this one last night, then there was a chance each could get on with their lives without a drastic fallout. She knew they wouldn’t be able to be friends. Neither would be able to get on with their lives if the other was near.
***
Ashton didn’t know what to do. He’d thought she loved him. The flame between them had been reignited, stronger than ever before. He could feel the flames of it licking his soul. Neither could ignore the power of it, and yet she kept turning away at the last moment.
Makenna confused him. One moment, she was open and smiling. The next, she closed down. The wall she’d erected the day he insulted her came back up. This time, he could see the fractures in it. She seemed indecisive, pained even.
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